JOACHIM PUCHNER TAKES 4TH PLACE IN KITZ

ATOMIC model athlete Joachim Puchner (24) missed the podium in Kitz by only 6 hundreds of a second and finished on 4th place. His misfortune: one of his ski poles slipped him out of his hand at the start. In the Kitzbühel snow drifting, Streif debutant Max Franz (22) kept his cool and proved his talent by ranking 13th. In Kranjska Gora, Kathrin Zettel achieved 9th place in the giant slalom.

Hundreds of helpers achieved the miracle of Kitzbühel. It had snowed all night, but with combined strength they succeed in preparing a slope on which a race was possible. Due to bad view, the start had to be taken down to the Alte Schneise. Joachim Puchner, who was the 5th racer, spent a long time in the red leader’s box; his final 4th place is his best downhill result, “I am very happy about this result, especially at a mega-event like in Kitzbühel. If I hadn’t had the trouble with the ski pole, a place on the podium would have been likely.”

The ATOMIC Young Guns proved their talents on the shortened Streif. US athlete Travis Ganong (23) achieved his best World Cup result, place 12, in his second Kitzbühel performance. Max Franz (13th) was in lead until the second interim time, but then made a mistake at the Hausbergkante, “It’s amazing to race in front of an enthusiastic crowd. It was quite a wild ride. I’m looking forward to next time.”

Hirscher remains overall World Cup leader

ATOMIC star Marcel Hirscher passed some slalom training in Oberndorf with Benni Raich and other colleagues and will participate in the slalom on Ganslernhang on Sunday with a overall World Cup lead of 30 points.